Do I really NEED a mammogram every yr w/ no family history?

[historically accurate]

Are there dangers associated with mammograms that often? We are pretty hands-off medically, mostly organic and natural, and are rarely sick, etc. I don't know enough about mammograms to say, but every year seems excessive to me with no family history.

 

(BTW, I am 42-had my first and only mammo at 40.)

 

I have not read all of the pages, but I thought I would give you my story. I am 36 and have no family history of ovarian or breast cancer. I had a baseline mammogram at 35 and a double mastectomy 2 months later. Turns out I carry a BRCA1 gene (remember: no family history!). My cancer was caught early and had not spread. It also was not palpable; there were no symptoms. So I fall on the side of yes, get a mammogram. It may not be the only method; thermogram wasn't offered to me and in fact, I hadn't heard about it at the time, but mammogram/ultrasound/MRI to pinpoint area worked to find mine.

 

PS: I'm considered cancer free after a year of surgeries -- I ended up with a hysterectomy too since the BRCA gene increases ovarian cancer risk too.

Edited February 13, 2011 by beckyjo

[Negin]

Anecdotally, I was browbeaten by doctors into a stereotactic biopsy for minor calcifications, and was told outright by the technician that they had increased her patient load from one or two biopsies per day to eight because, and I quote, "They need to pay for this multi-million dollar machine."

There is a LOT of unnecessary testing going on in the name of profit. To think any other way would be naive.

:iagree:

 

Negin, I was just going to ask you last week for your thoughts on mammograms.

But, I AM going bra-free as much as possible right now! :tongue_smilie:

Cyndi, my thoughts on mammos ... me personally ;), not having one yet. For now, and as long as possible, my plan is to do almost daily self-exams in the shower and have annual thermograms. I now know my own bre@sts very well and know what could be wrong. Peela has taught me so much about this. I used to only do monthly exams and would often forget. I still do a more thorough monthly one - the week after my period - but daily in the shower. Plus, annual or so thermograms. Now, I'm never one to say what anyone else should do. I do believe that everyone needs to come to their own decision and read up on the risks and benefits of each approach. Diet, lifestyle, etc. are key. Prevention is very important. As Peela says, mammograms do not prevent breast cancer. Going bra-free is great. :D I have friends in their 50s and 60s who have never had mammos. One of them - her own mother was diagnosed with breast cancer more than 20 years ago. She healed it naturally. My friend lives a very healthy lifestyle. To each her own. If all is normal for me, I will delay having a mammo for as long as possible. My mom had her first one in her 60s.

 

Does going bra free help prevent breast cancer?

Some say that it is quite possible. I believe so myself. The tighter the bra, particularly underwire ones, the worst it is for lymph flow.

I have read this and things similar to this time and time again:

Wearing a bra decreases circulation in the breasts. Make sure your bra fits correctly and not too tight. Remove your bra as soon as you get home. Try not to wear an underwire bra. Go braless for a few hours each day. In the book Dressed to Kill: The Link Between Breast Cancer and Bras, they found that women who wore a bra more than 12 hours a day had a 19 times greater risk of breast cancer than those who wore a bra fewer than 12 hours. The scientific credibility of this finding is still being debated. I don't care personally about scientific studies for everything. I believe it. It makes sense to me. A friend on another forum who lost a sister to breast cancer - her sister was convinced that it was from years and years of tight underwire bras. Who know? But to me, why not go braless as often as possible? What does one have to lose?

 

Research from multiple sources. Just like you teach your kids, look at the validity and the credentials of your sources. If you cannot trust your doctor, ob-gyn, or naturopath, get a new one.

:iagree:

Hence why I have spent more than 3 years researching all this and coming to my own decision.

 

I have also heard that mammograms can cause cancer or make it worse if it's on the brink. To me, it makes no sense to blast the body with radiation unnecessarily, when we KNOW that radiation can cause cancer!

:iagree:

 

I just suggest that one takes responsibility for oneself, which is something that the medical profession in general actively discourages in many ways.

There are many causes to cancer and some are well within our control- diet and lifestyle, exposure to radiation and toxins, stress etc The medical profession still barely acknowledges that, yet it is well researched.

My approach as a preventative one is not to rely on mammograms because they are truly not a preventative measure- they are just the best the medical system has come up with- they are diagnostic, not preventative. If they find something, you already have it.

My encouragement is to take a preventative and proactive approach, and I think mammograms might provide for some people a false sense of security- that is the other side of the coin. They might feel they are taking care of themselves by having a mammogram- but taking care of oneself involves a lot more than that.

Its a complex issue and every situation is individual.

Brilliant advice. :iagree:

[SonshineLearner]

Because of cancer in my families... I'm doing a breast MRI and self examination. Mammograms do not work for our family. (having lost several aunts and cousins to breast cancer... who had exams)